Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the indications, reliability, and complications of the radial forearm fasciocutaneous flap (RFFF) procedure in reconstructive head and neck surgery. METHODS: The records of 81 patients who were treated with an RFFF between 1998 and 2009 were systematically reviewed. Data of recipient localization, previous T status, and postoperative complications were analyzed. RESULTS: From the 50 male and 31 female patients, 4 patients (3 men and 1 woman) experienced flap failure during the first 36 hours: in 1 patient because of arterial and in 3 patients because of venous complications. None of the 4 patients had preoperative radiotherapy. A dehiscence was observed in 2 patients without a need for further surgery. CONCLUSIONS: With a success rate of more than 95%, the RFFF is a reliable flap and a workhorse, particularly in defects where thinness is needed to substitute for the oral mucosa, such as on the floor of the mouth or the tongue.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of the study was to evaluate the indications, reliability, and complications of the radial forearm fasciocutaneous flap (RFFF) procedure in reconstructive head and neck surgery. METHODS: The records of 81 patients who were treated with an RFFF between 1998 and 2009 were systematically reviewed. Data of recipient localization, previous T status, and postoperative complications were analyzed. RESULTS: From the 50 male and 31 female patients, 4 patients (3 men and 1 woman) experienced flap failure during the first 36 hours: in 1 patient because of arterial and in 3 patients because of venous complications. None of the 4 patients had preoperative radiotherapy. A dehiscence was observed in 2 patients without a need for further surgery. CONCLUSIONS: With a success rate of more than 95%, the RFFF is a reliable flap and a workhorse, particularly in defects where thinness is needed to substitute for the oral mucosa, such as on the floor of the mouth or the tongue.

Download

Article Networks

TrendTerms

TrendTerms displays relevant terms of the abstract of this publication and related documents on a map. The terms and their relations were extracted from ZORA using word statistics. Their timelines are taken from ZORA as well. The bubble size of a term is proportional to the number of documents where the term occurs. Red, orange, yellow and green colors are used for terms that occur in the current document; red indicates high interlinkedness of a term with other terms, orange, yellow and green decreasing interlinkedness. Blue is used for terms that have a relation with the terms in this document, but occur in other documents.
You can navigate and zoom the map. Mouse-hovering a term displays its timeline, clicking it yields the associated documents.